Top doc says public are morally obliged to take Covid-19 vaccine

A top ICU consultant at University Hospital Galway has said the public has a moral duty to take the Covid-19 vaccine to protect the community, as the Delta surge continues to impact locally.

Dr Kevin Clarkson, Consultant Intensivist at the Intensive Care Unit of UHG, said that most Covid patients being treated in ICU during this surge are unvaccinated; and he warned that ICU, “could quite easily be overwhelmed”.

Speaking to the Connacht Tribune ahead of a charity cycle to remember the 7,000 Covid deaths on the island of Ireland during the Pandemic, Dr Clarkson said additional ICU capacity could not be created easily.

“Despite assurances and efforts to both recruit nurses and increase our capacity, we’ve been very, very limited in our ability to do that. We do have surge plans in place but they require strenuous efforts on the part of existing staff . . . It’s particularly challenging in this environment to expand our capacity throughout the Saolta Healthcare Group, in terms of actual infrastructure and staffing.

“These are hugely expensive bills to build, and it requires significant additional training of nursing and medical personnel. It is not something that can easily be created or deployed,” he said.

Dr Clarkson urged the public to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

“Personally I believe it is your moral duty from late childhood and up to get vaccinated. If you care about your community, you care about those around you, I can’t rationalise anything other than getting the vaccine,” he said.

Read the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie